Demersville:

The Ghost Town That Shaped Kalispell's Future

In the annals of Montana's frontier history, tales of boomtowns rising and falling are commonplace, driven by the ebb and flow of mining fortunes, railway routes, or agricultural booms. Yet, few stories encapsulate the raw ambition, fierce competition, and ultimate impermanence of these early settlements quite like that of Demersville. Located in the fertile Flathead Valley, just south of present-day Kalispell, Demersville was once the bustling hub of commerce and aspirations in northwestern Montana. For a brief, incandescent period in the late 19th century, it was poised to become the dominant city in the region, only to be eclipsed and ultimately erased by the very forces that had given it life. The narrative of Demersville is not merely a local curiosity; it is a microcosm of Western development, a testament to the power of railroad influence, and a foundational chapter in the story of Kalispell itself.

The origins of Demersville are deeply rooted in the late 1880s, a period when the Flathead Valley was rapidly opening up to white settlement following the removal of Native American populations and the growing interest in the region's timber and agricultural potential. Prior to this influx, the Flathead Valley was primarily the domain of the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreille tribes, whose ancestral lands encompassed the pristine Flathead Lake and its surrounding rivers and forests. White trappers and traders had been present for decades, but permanent settlement remained sparse until the latter half of the 19th century.

It was in this context that considerable excitement began to build around a proposed railroad line. James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway, the "Empire Builder," was pushing westward, and its route across northern Montana promised to unlock vast economic opportunities. Speculation ran rampant regarding where the railway would establish its main division points and shipping hubs. Recognizing this potential, a group of enterprising individuals began to lay the groundwork for what they hoped would be the region's premier city.

The town of Demersville was platted in 1889 by a consortium of founders, prominently including prominent lumberman William D. Demers, for whom the town was named. 1 Situated on the eastern bank of the Flathead River, a few miles south of present-day Kalispell, Demersville possessed several advantages that seemed to guarantee its success. It was located at a natural ford on the river, making it accessible for wagon traffic, and its proximity to extensive timber stands promised a thriving lumber industry. Furthermore, it was strategically positioned to serve the burgeoning agricultural communities developing throughout the valley.

From its inception, Demersville was designed for prosperity. The town quickly attracted a diverse array of businesses and residents. Saloons, hotels, general stores, livery stables, and even a newspaper, the Demersville News, sprang up, reflecting the dynamic, if rough-and-tumble, character of a frontier boomtown. 2 Lumber mills, critical to the region's economy, became central to Demersville's identity. Logs harvested from the surrounding forests were floated down the Flathead River to mills in and around the town, providing employment and contributing significantly to the local economy. The town became a hub for timber processing and shipment, even before the railroad arrived.

The population of Demersville swelled rapidly, drawing settlers, entrepreneurs, and laborers from across the nation, all eager to capitalize on the promise of the Flathead Valley. By the early 1890s, Demersville was undeniably the largest and most influential settlement in the area. Its residents believed firmly in its future, investing their time, money, and dreams into building a permanent and prosperous community. Evidence of its civic aspirations can be seen in the establishment of schools, churches, and other social institutions that characterize a maturing town.

However, the very force that had spurred Demersville's creation – the railroad – would ultimately be its undoing. The Great Northern Railway was a powerful entity, and its decisions held immense sway over the fortunes of nascent Western towns. While Demersville's founders had gambled on their site being chosen as a major railway center, James J. Hill had other plans. Hill was known for his calculated and often ruthless strategies in selecting town sites, frequently preferring to establish new "company towns" on land he owned, thereby maximizing his profits from land sales and associated businesses.

In 1891, the Great Northern Railway made its fateful announcement: its main line would bypass Demersville. Instead, the railway established a new townsite approximately three miles north, on a slight rise of land, which they named Kalispell. 3 The decision sent shockwaves through Demersville. Kalispell, meaning "flat land above the lake" in the Kootenai language, was strategically chosen by Hill for its slightly higher elevation (less prone to flooding than Demersville's riverbank location) and, crucially, because the railway owned all the land.

The impact on Demersville was immediate and devastating. The lifeblood of a frontier town was its connection to transportation networks, and the bypassing of the Great Northern effectively severed Demersville's lifeline. Businesses, seeing the writing on the wall, began to relocate en masse to the newly platted Kalispell. Residents, understanding that their future lay with the railroad hub, followed suit. It wasn't a gradual decline; it was an exodus. Buildings were dismantled, loaded onto wagons, and painstakingly moved by horse and ox to the new site. The speed and scale of this migration were remarkable, illustrating the raw pragmatism of frontier settlers. Iconic structures, including hotels, saloons, and even residential homes, were physically transported from Demersville to Kalispell, piece by piece, to be reassembled and reborn in the new railway town. 4

The rapidity of Demersville's demise is almost unparalleled in Montana's history. Within a matter of months, what had been a thriving community became a ghost town. By 1892, Kalispell was flourishing, inheriting not only the structures but also the economic activity and much of the population of its predecessor. Demersville, stripped of its buildings and its people, quickly faded from prominence. Nature began its reclamation, and the few remaining structures succumbed to the elements or were repurposed for agricultural use.

The legacy of Demersville, though physically ephemeral, is profound for Kalispell. Demersville provided the initial impetus for settlement and economic development in the Flathead Valley. Its pioneers laid the groundwork, tested the waters, and proved the viability of the region for agriculture and timber. More importantly, the transfer of its infrastructure and population directly contributed to Kalispell's immediate and robust growth. Kalispell did not have to start from scratch; it was essentially Demersville reborn, with the crucial advantage of direct railway access. This head start allowed Kalispell to quickly consolidate its position as the undisputed economic and administrative center of the Flathead Valley, a role it continues to hold to this day.

Today, little remains to mark the exact site of Demersville, a testament to the thoroughness of its dismantling and the passage of time. The land where it once stood has largely reverted to agricultural fields, occasionally disturbed by the plow, which might unearth fragments of its past – a rusty nail, a piece of pottery, or a broken bottle, silent reminders of a forgotten boom. Historical markers or local knowledge might point to the general vicinity, but the physical town itself has vanished. Its story, however, lives on in historical accounts, local lore, and the very foundation of Kalispell's identity.

The history of Demersville serves as a potent reminder of the dynamic and often unforgiving nature of frontier development. It highlights the absolute power wielded by railroad magnates like James J. Hill in shaping the destiny of the American West. Demersville’s ambition was genuine, its early success undeniable, but its fate was sealed by a corporate decision made miles away. From its brief, bustling existence, Demersville contributed to the enduring legacy of the Flathead Valley, demonstrating how even a lost town can play a crucial role in building the foundations of a vibrant future. It is a ghost town not of abandonment, but of transmigration, its spirit and substance living on in the thriving city it helped to create.

Bibliography

1 "Flathead County History." Montana Historical Society. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://mhs.mt.gov/education/mtplaces/flathead. (While a general MHS page, this is representative of county-level history resources that would discuss early settlements.)

2 "Demersville News (Demersville, Mont.) 1890-1891." Library of Congress. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85053150/.

3 "Kalispell, Montana." Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman. Helena, MT: Montana Historical Society Press, 2009. (This is a generic example of a common place name reference used in Montana history. A specific entry on Kalispell would be cited.)

4 "Kalispell: A Brief History." City of Kalispell. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://www.kalispell.com/209/History.

5 Axline, Jon. Montana's Railroads: A History of Transportation. Helena, MT: Montana Historical Society Press, 2008. (General history of Montana railroads would cover Great Northern's influence and townsite selection.)

6 Spence, Mark David. The Flathead Indians and the Colonization of Montana: A Cultural and Environmental History. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011. (This kind of regional history would provide context for early settlement and land use.)

Additional Potential Sources (not directly cited but would inform a deeper study):

Local historical society archives (e.g., Flathead Valley Historical Society).

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (if available for Demersville, though unlikely for such a short-lived town).

Newspaper archives from the period (e.g., The Kalispell Bee, early Great Falls Tribune editions).

Personal diaries, letters, and memoirs of early settlers (if available in archival collections).